The War Period

When school opened in the fall of 1942, 20 men were in Nabor House to start classes. World War II was mounting in fury, and the Nabor House men were wondering what hte future held for them, just as young men throughout the country were. Already, 19 alums and actives were in the service, and most of the remaining actives faced entry into the military, some immediately. However, with grit and determination, those living in the house resolved to keep the organization going as strongly and as long as possible.

Although few, if any, of the men knew what the next day might bring, they calmly went about doing the things they needed to do to keep their studies and Nabor House in good shape. And they did both well. Two milestones were recorded in December. Nabor House was officially recognized as a cooperative on Dec. 3, and the first official newsletter was published on Dec. 12.

The uncertainty about what the military was going to do created a guessing game. The men began to take steps to cope with the changes that were occurring or were expected to take place. In December, the actives decided to initiate the entire class early, because it appeared likely that some of them would not be around after Christmas. Informal initiation was dispensed with and all seven men were formally initiated Dec. 15. At the same time, Drs. C.L. Stewart and R.W. Bartlett were made honorary members for their strong interest in and their extensive aid and guidance in the development and progress of Nabor House.

The Military Calls

Things were relatively quiet through the end of the semester in late January. One man graduated, and two left school to help on their home farms. Two new men came into the house for the second semester, one a pledge and the other a boarder. Scarcely a week after everyone had registered for the second semester, word circulated that the Air Corps Reserve was to be called immediately instead of in April as had been previously rumored. Oh, for those campus rumors! But it turned out to be true. Within a week, six men had their orders. Another one withdrew from school anticipating his orders also, but then had to wait several weeks for them to come.

Eleven men were left in the house. Four men in the Army Enlisted Reserve Crops were called in early March. So, by April, there were seven left. Two of those withdrew from school and went home to work on the farm, leaving three actives, one alum, and a boarder to finish out the year.

Two Tough Years

From the fall of 1943 to the fall of 1945 was an especially rough and trying time for Nabor House Fraternity. There were all the emotions, anxieties, and hurts of war. And, there was the concern about keeping Nabor House alive economically and organizationally. its survival was a very real challenge. No organizational work was done in either the active chapter or by the alumni, because so many men were in the service.

Nabors were scattered to the "four corners of the earth." They could be found in training, servicing troops, fighting, or doing whatever there was to do. Two lost their lives, some suffered injuries, three became prisoners of war, and all endured the mental and anxiety stresses of war.

Two Nabors Lost

Garrett W. Loy, '40 1/2, was the first Nabor to become a casualty of WWII. The announcement was a great shock to Nabors everywhere. Many did not learn about it until long afterwards because they themselves were away in foreign countries, and the news often did not catch up with them for some time. A 1st Lieutenant and liaison pilot in the Field Artillery, he died from injuries received when his plane crashed. his death occurred Oct. 20, 1944, at Ora Bay, new Guinea, where he was buried with military honors. His body was reinterred at Memorial Cemetery, Effingham, Ill., July 8, 1948.

Neil F. Reinerd, '44, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Corps was killed on Ie Shima Sept. 8, 1945. Pilot of a Black Widow night fighter plane, Neil was killed when a tire blew out on the take-off, throwing him into an embankment. He was buried in the Island Cemetery on Ie Shima with full military honors. His body was reinterred at Macon Cemetery, Macon, Ill., on April 10, 1949.

The deaths of Garrett and Neil were great emotional shocks to all the Nabors who knew them. Highly respected and popular in Nabor House, both were true, intensely loyal Nabors with high ideals and beliefs.

Prisoners of War

Carl W. Cahoon, '45, was reported missing in action in late January 1945 and not heard from until mid-May of that year. A 1st Lieutenant and pilot of a B-25 Bomber in Europe, he was captured and imprisoned in a Nazi Prison Camp in Italy.

Sherwin G. Desens, '43, was a fighter-plane pilot in Europe. A Major, "Butch" was captured when he made his third jump west of Vire, France. his first jump was in the English Channel and his second on the beachhead during the Normandy invasion. Imprisoned nine months, he was liberated May 2, 1945, from Stalag Luft I by the Russians. He reported that the Russians fed the P.O.W.'s steak four times a day the last two weeks they were there.

Bonard S. Wilson, '40, was a 1st Lieutenant and navigator of a B-17 Bomber when he was shot down over Germany Jan. 30, 1944. He was released from Stalag Luft III, Stalag, Luft I in Germany on May 13, 1945.

Renting the House

As the end of May 1943 approached, it was evident that Nabor House's financial condition was precarious. The organization was too young to have built up reserves, and the loss of active members to the military over the last several months left a very thin financial position. The balance sheet of May 29, 1943, showed only $77 in cash on hand with $22 in accounts receivable and about $177 worth of canned goods that might or might not be liquidated at fair market value.

Clearly, the financia positions at the time and in the near future hinged on whether the house was rented. But, finding a renter was not easy, and the turnover of renters was high. In 1943-44, the University had begun to operate on a three full-semester-a-year basis. The house had been vacant since the end of the spring semester, except for Bob Harris and Warren E. Burgener, '43, "existing" there--those were Bob's words--part of each night during the summer. Since Bob's vision did not meet the military's minimum requirements, he remained on campus in graduate school. So, management of the property and other responsibilities fell on Bob's shoulders. With the semester due to begin Oct. 13, 1944, Bob was finally able to rent the house on Oct. 7. Mrs. Helen Fulrath of Champaign agreed to pay $75 a month for eight months in order to operate the house as a girls' house. Girls living in Nabor House!

In the summer of 1944, Ray Jordan, Superintendent of Pulic Schools, Carmi, Ill., rented the fist floor of the house at $35 a month for the first eight weeks of the summer. The second floor remained vacant. Then, on Aug. 6, 1944, Mrs. Wayne Wingett and son and Mrs. Fern White and children moved in as new tenants of the house at $60 a month. Bob Harrisand D. Eugene Becker, '45, lived in one of the upstairs rooms. next. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Morgan and son rented the house Jun 6, 1945. Their rental term was only to be for the summer at $45 a month for the downstairs. Five men lived cooperatively upstairs for the summer. They were Gene Becker, Bob Harris, future Nabor H. Leroy Schilt ('47), and two baorders. Each of the five paid a monthly rental fee of $9. When the Jordan's could not find a vacant house in the fall of 1945, they agreed to live with the reorganizing group of men and help with the cooking. When they found a house and moved away in early 1946, Bob Harris' struggle to keep the house rented was over. Nabor House was making its comeback. The men would again occupy the house and hold their own from that time forward.

Planning Begins

Both actives and alums were concerned about what would happen to the property and the re-establishment of the active chapter after the war. In that regard, the Alumni Association held a meeting on Feb. 21, 1943, and issued the following statement:

We, the representatives of the Alumni Association of Nabor House, acting in the absence of our fellow members, do hereby issue the following directive:

Postponement of principal and possible interest rate reductions for the duration on the house mortgage.

The income from rent will be used to pay overhead expenses. Any deficiency will be secured by personal loans.

It should be emphasized that the members leaving the house automatically become members of the Alumni Association and thereby assume full responsibilities and privileges of alumni.

We also urge the full cooperation and Nabor House men in the organization of the active chapter following the war.

Busy Bank officials were interested in Nabor House, believed in it, and were willing to make some concessions. So, in working with them to try to reduce the monthly payments, they indicated that it would be necessary to first reduce the principal from $5,025 to $4,000 in order to lower both the monthly payments from $60 to $30 and the interest rate from six to five percent.

In a little over a month, after telling members about the need, a total of $1,374 was raised from 12 members through promissory notes at five percent. The final amount was $2,074. Thus, the monthly reduction plan was put into effect. Even with this arrangement, retaining possession of the house through the war would, at best, be tenuous. And, possession of the building was the most important factor in effective reorganization after the war.

Nabors who financially supported this effort to not only reduce the mortgage payments but also to cover other expenses, such as a new furnace boiler and taxes, were:

Botterbusch, Charles E., '47

Buchanan, Paul L., '42

Desens, Sherwin G., '43

Drake, Robert E., '46 1/2

Harris, J. Robert, '42

Lanus, Howard W., '41

Loy, Garrett W., '40 1/2

Mizell, H. Earl, '41

Parks, Walter D., '40

Redman, R. Dale, '44

Reinerd, Neil F., '44

Ridlen, Samuel F., '40

Schneider, Edwin O., '43

Stone, Richard C., '46

Swanson, Earl R., '43

Wagoner, melvin E., '44

Walker, Floyde S., '46 1/2

Wehrly, John H., Jr., '42 1/2

In a chapter meeting Feb. 22, 1943, the actives passed a motion that a committee of three undergraduates and two alums be appointed by the chapter president to reorganize the house after the war. A committee was appointed, but since cooperation is not a trademark of the war, only one committee member was out of the service and available when the time came to start reorganizing. J. Robert Harris, '42, the chairman, quickly tapped others to help get the job done.

Some of the role and efforts of Bob Harris during the war period have been touched upon elsewhere, but it is impossible to tell all that he did. He became "Mr. Everything" to Nabor House in that time. He not only managed and rented the property, raised money, acted as treasurer to pay the mortgage and other bills, but he also served as a communications center or coordinator, so to speak. The importance to the "G.I.'s" of getting the news from back home and hearing about friends and families cannot be over-emphasized, and Bob understood that. So during the war, he wrote and issued the newsletter with only occasional help from others. It undoubtedly had a strong influence in holding the men together fraternally and paving the way for re-opening the house at the end of the war.

Nabors in the military wrote to Bob both as a friend and as a source of information about other Nabors. He answered all of them and shared their news, not only with other Nabors, but also with friends, faculty, the University YMCA, and the University Alumni Association. He sent all letters from the men overseas to the University Alumni Association, which published some of the information in the Alumni News. To Bob Harris, Nabor House owes much.